The evolution of methods for determining tuna age based on hard tissues
ZHU Jiangfeng
LU Dongqi
LIN Qinqin
ZHANG Fan
Abstract：The studies on tuna age estimation based on hard tissues have beeen lasting almost a hundred-years,during which the development of techniques change fast.Different treatment methods of hard tissues have a direct impact on age identification,and the fitting results of growth equations are also significantly different.In this paper,we systematically described the development of related techniques in a chronological order and analyzed the current status of hard tissue-based age studies both home and abroad in the context of tuna hard tissue age studies.The use of scales in tuna growth studies is rare,and vertebrae and otoliths are more mature materials of aging identification.The use of fin spines for age determination can be used largely without damaging the fish body,and the application is gradually widespread.In addition,many studies have found that tuna growth is divided into two stages,and the use of a bipartite age-growth model is more suitable for fitting the growth pattern of tuna.Age identifi-cation based on hard tissues will be the mainstream method for tuna growth research in future,and at-tention should be paid to refining the sampling and experimental techniques for hard tissues to improve the accuracy of aging estimation.
Keywords：tunahard tissueage identificationgrowth model
Publication Date：2025-12-30
Online Publishing Date：2026-05-22(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：8( 283-290 )